GRIMM FAIRY TALES #61, from Zenescope Entertainment on June 29th, 2022, gets the band back together when Vampire Dorothy sends her ghoulish army through a portal to bleed a new world dry while the Shang Gang puts their trust in Baba Yaga’s powers.
The Details
- Written By: Dave Franchini
- Art By: Babisu Kourtis
- Colors By: Jorge Cortes
- Letters By: Taylor Esposito
- Cover Art By: Igor Vitorino
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: June 29, 2022
Was It Good?
GRIMM FAIRY TALES #61 is a big, action-packed, energetic adventure that starts to bring the disparate threads of the arc together. A lot of progress is made on Skye’s multiverse-hopping adventures, and this issue feels like we’re getting close to a final battle, but is the journey worth the price of admission? Sorta.
The big winner in this issue is the collection of leaps and bounds Franchini makes on the plot. Up to this point, we’ve enjoyed the ride, but the story was settling into a multiverse-hop-of-the-month model that was starting to get formulaic (read: stale). In parallel, the Shang Gang was spending a slow-paced but lengthy amount of time on a scavenger hunt. Only in the last issue did readers get an inkling of forwarding progress, and now the threads are coming together. Your satisfaction with the hows and why of the progress may be up to your personal tastes, but at least the story is moving in a direction.
On the technical execution of the script, Franchini ticks all the right boxes. The pacing is high and energetic, there’s plenty of chaotic action and tension-filled excitement, the dialog is solid, and the outcome of the plot feels like the players are ready to move on.
The don point of the issue is the art, specifically the inks. The linework in this issue is rough, sketchy rough, thrown-together-in-a-hurry rough. Thankfully, Cortes delivers outstanding colors to hide the flaws, but there are too many not to notice. We typically praise Zenescope for maintaining a minimal house quality on internal pages, but that quality is below par in this issue.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
To recollect how Skye and her friends found themselves hostage to Vampire Dorothy, first read our GRIMM FAIRY TALES #60 review.
We begin with Vampire Dorothy in possession of the gem and the teleporter, poised to send her starving vampire army to a new world for feeding. Skye and her friends appear powerless to stop them, but little does Vampire Dorothy know that Skye made a small adjustment to the teleporter before handing it over. When Vampire Dorothy steps through the portal, she finds herself in a deserted world with only one person left alive, Crazy Mystere.
Eager to be reunited with the gem, Mystere unleashes her spirit army on Vampire Dorothy, and so begins an epic battle of the dead against the undead. Amid the chaos, Skye and her friends look for the gem and teleporter to escape while the forces battle for survival.
Meanwhile, Baba Yaga casts her portal spell with the help of the Shang Gang. Of course, that old witch can’t be trusted, and two Baba Yagas are brought forth from the multiverse to help Baba Yaga take over. Fortunately, Shang was prepared for a double-cross.
We conclude the issue with another double-cross, second chances, and more than one reunion.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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GRIMM FAIRY TALES #61 is a refreshing change of pace as the plot takes leaps and bounds forward towards the final conflict against the Dark Princess. The pacing, action, and dialog are all full of pep. However, the inks look rushed and rough, even if they are saved by outstanding coloring.
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